Poile Praises Family, Preds, Nashville During U.S. Hall of Fame Induction

David Poile likened it to building an ice cream sundae.
Never one to shy away from an after-dinner treat, it was the perfect analogy for the Nashville Predators General Manager to scoop up when discussing the construction of his hockey club on the night of yet another prestigious accolade.
Poile and his franchise have come a long way over the past 20-plus years. Perhaps one of the greatest signifiers of that fact was the location of the 2018 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Wednesday, just two blocks from Poile's Bridgestone Arena office.

The days of Nashville being referred to as a non-traditional hockey market are long gone, and as Poile walked up on stage at the JW Marriott Hotel in downtown Music City to receive his official plaque and induction into the Hall, he couldn't help but recall the beginning of his career in this town - and reflect on what it's become, and where he still wants to go.

"I really think, too, it's a real recognition of what's taking place in Nashville," Poile said. "Part of my job, I've always felt, as a hockey guy, was to be a little bit of a builder. The fact that I came here 20 years ago and all the things that have happened in Nashville with the Predators… There's no question right now our fans are as passionate as anybody in the League, our support is as good as anybody in the League and our building is much fun as any building in the League and I couldn't be happier or prouder of our franchise.
"I really think that part our recognition tonight is for how well we've done here in Nashville."
An honored member of the class of 2018 - along with Gordon "Red" Berenson, Natalie Darwitz, Leland "Hago" Harrington and Paul Stewart - Poile admitted there were too many to thank individually in his speech who had helped him reach this particular pinnacle, but there were three he made sure to spend a few minutes with in his remarks.
First, his father, Norman "Bud" Poile, who instilled in him a love for the game, ensuring he too would be a hockey lifer.
There was his professional mentor, Cliff Fletcher, who gave him his first job in professional hockey, and showed him what it took to foster a successful career in the game.

And finally, Poile's wife, Elizabeth. He recalled meeting his 13-year-old neighbor for the first time while growing up in the Bay Area of California, a girl who knew nothing about hockey at the time, but had the cutest pair of pigtails and brown eyes he had ever seen. All these years later, they're still together.
The night was all about the honorees, including the GM, but for as much as everyone was there to thank him for his contributions to the sport in this country, Poile believes that those favors have been reciprocated back to him tenfold.
"It's really given me more than I've given them to be honest," Poile said of his involvement with USA Hockey. "All the relationships I've had with other managers that I've worked together with, and people from USA Hockey, all the experiences I've had, all the travel and things I've learned both from a personal standpoint and from a hockey standpoint, it's been more than I could ever imagine. It's been fabulous, and certainly I'm a big benefactor of USA Hockey."
As the night went on, it was easy to lose count of the number of times Poile was mentioned by others who took to the microphone, all with a similar message.
There was the evening's host and ESPN anchor Steve Levy, who remarked the atmosphere in Nashville during the 2017 Stanley Cup Final was like nothing he had ever experienced before.
There was NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman who raved about the city as a hockey market, just as he does every time he stops by.
And then there was Stewart who recalled officiating a game in Nashville after returning from a bout with stage four colon cancer. Tom Fitzgerald, the Preds captain at the time, and some of his teammates, presented Stewart and his young son with a Predators jersey to welcome him back. It was pure class that Stewart never forgot, all stemming from a culture built by Poile from Day One in this town.

So, as the U.S. Hockey family descended upon a southern city in Tennessee, they realized it was because of one man's passion and dedication to make the game work in his adopted home.
Indeed, the night was about all of the honorees, but one seemed to garner a larger cheer from the more than 500 in attendance.
And if the American recognitions were the entrée for the evening, dessert was all about the franchise at the forefront of his mind.
Now, back to that sundae.
"You put the couple scoops of ice cream in there and then you put the right sauce you want on there and then some whipped cream and then the cherry on the top is the Stanley Cup," Poile said. "Right now, my sundae is built. We only have one more thing to do."